Council approves safer pedestrian crossing in the heart of Tempe

By ELIOTT HEATH

In a win for the local Tempe community, at the latest traffic committee council meeting for the Inner West council, it was recommended that that the detailed design plan for the raising of the Richardsons Crescent pedestrian crossing be approved.  

The crossing marks a busy thoroughfare between Marrickville and Tempe, and is located in close proximity to several schools and parks.

The safety of the crossing has long been debated, with community members pushing for the council to protect pedestrians, after a string of incidents occurred.

In 2016 a woman was struck with a vehicle and killed at the crossing. In recent years two school children have been involved in incidents.

Local Tempe resident Daniel Gardiner described using the Richardsons Crescent crossing as a frightening experience, saying that “numerous injuries have occurred”. 

“The families who use the crossing will be very grateful as it’s outside the park and day care centre, new changes mean we might have to fear for our lives less” Gardiner said about the additional safety measures. 

Inner West Councillor Mat Howard said in a Facebook post that residents have been campaigning for “decades”.

“This crossing has to be even safer for the students and the local residents that use it each and every day” Cr Howard said.

Raised pedestrian crossing and landscaping on the horizon

The new changes to the crossing will see the Inner West council allocate $25,000 from their 22/23 budget to improve safety. 

The council have listed the changes to be made as: 

• Installing new Raised Pedestrian Crossing.  

• Modifying the existing landscaped kerb blister islands to accommodate the new raised crossing 

• Reconstructing some of the concrete footpath on both sides of the proposed pedestrian crossing 

• Installing associated pavement line marking and signage as detailed 

Peak walking advocacy group WalkSydney welcome the new safety measures brought by Council.

WalkSydney President Lena Huda told City Hub that they “welcome that NSW has recently published a new guide on pedestrian crossings, and clarifies that local councils don’t have to follow the strict warrant system for arterial roads when deciding if a crossing can be installed or not”.

“Streets need to be easy to cross” Huda said. “Walking is one of the most sustainable ways to get around in our city and councils need to make sure people can cross streets safely.”